Do Hawthorn have the kids to reignite a dampened fire?

It’s a phrase we are becoming all too familiar with as fans bellow it from the stands or from their lounge rooms at home.

Ross Lyon has done it.

John Longmire to an extent has done it.

There’s no denying that Brendan Bolton has had to do it also.

After Hawthorn succumbed to an unforeseeable 86-point thrashing on Easter Monday at the hands of the Cats, to move to 0-4, the question has to be asked.

Is it time for Alistair Clarkson to do the same?

If the answer is yes, there also has to be a follow up question. Do the Hawks have the kids to play?

Clarkson has stopped short of saying that Hawthorn – a club we have come accustomed to being at the top of the ladder – is hitting a rebuilding stage.

This may have something to do with the fact that the Hawks traded away their 2017 first round and second round draft picks to secure big name recruits Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell during the trade period.

But it might also have something to do with the list he has as his disposal, could it possibly be a case of denial?

The aforementioned clubs in Fremantle and Carlton have decided to give playing time to the more inexperienced part of their list.

The former with the like of Lachie Weller, Ed Langdon, Hayden Crozier, Griffen Logue and Harley Balic, and the latter with Sam Petrevski-Seton, Tom Williamson, Charlie Curnow, Harrison Macreadie and most recently Zac Fisher.

The Swans are in a different boat with Robbie Fox, Will Hayward and Ollie Florent given games due to an injury hit swans list that is expected to bounce back quickly from their worst start to a season since 1993.

The AFL community was waiting this week for the Hawks to do just that, bounce back. It seemed the perfect game to do so, a modern day rivalry on the MCG, Easter Monday in front of over 60,000 fans.

But they didn’t.

It sent a message to the whole of the competition and it’s followers. The Hawks might just be closer to the Blues and the Dockers than they are to the Swans, and that dreaded rebuild word may be closer than first thought.

When a club starts a rebuild or reshape of their list, they have to be prepared for it to get ugly before it gets better.

The younger and more inexperienced players that take the field have to be given time to transition into the fast paced game that modern AFL has become.

But you can’t just throw anyone out there; they have to be ready to deal with the rigours of the top level.

While 2015 first round draft pick Ryan Burton has showed that he can comfortably mess it with the best in Hawthorn’s defence, is there any others?

In 2016, the Hawks entered the draft for the first time with pick 74, drafting Harrison Morrison, two selections later they took Mitchell Lewis.

In the 2015 draft the Hawks took Burton at pick 19, three picks later they took Tasmania small midfielder Kieran Lovell, and a little later in the second round they selected Blake Hardwick, who played his second game on Monday.

None of these names have really set the AFL stage alight.

The trend continues into the 2014 draft, with the Hawks taking away Daniel Howe, Teia Miles and Marc Pittonet. While Howe has been serviceable for 15 games since arriving at the club, Miles and Pittonet have struggled for opportunity.

2014 Rookie Draft pick Dallas Willsmore gathered 32 disposals and kicked a goal in Box Hills VFL match up against Footscray on the weekend, and Kade Stewart had 25 touches and 8 tackles.

However both players absence from the senior team in recent years suggests Clarkson doesn’t think they are up to it.

It’s a dire sight for Hawks fans at the moment, the experienced stars are struggling to keep up, and there’s not too many youngsters knocking down the door.

Before you tell Clarkson it’s time to “play the kids”, first have a look at their list.

With their early selections in next years draft already given away, the future might get darker for Hawthorn before it gets any brighter.

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